Please Help? Don't want to spend any more unnecessary money!

[Khwang89]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2013 black brz. I have loved this car so much and it is in fact my first new car but an unfortunate event has happened. Here is the backstory:
I was entering a freeway on-ramp that required an almost 90 degree turn with a downward dip. I made the turn a little too quick and the car under-steered right into the curb while the wheel was turned right (saying this in hopes that you can further diagnose what is going on).

The car is currently drive-able and aligned, however there is one nuisance that makes it look like I am a drunk driver. The car seems to veer one direction or the other on slightly uneven roads and even though it may be small, you can feel the weight of the car shifting when its veering left or right. The car needs almost constant correction when going straight. I have talked to some of my car buddies about it and they said it happens. However the part they couldn't understand is why there was no tension in the steering wheel when the car decided to veer on its own.

Now I have taken it to the dealership about 3 times and each time they found something new to fix and have replaced the following:
1. Rack and pinion
2. Power steering rack
3. Front left rim and tire
4. Front axle

As you can already imagine, going separate times means a lot of money for the labor and parts, which according to my estimates have gone into the $3000.00 range.

I am a full time student with 2 jobs so it is hard for me to keep taking my car in for service/repair. I was hoping that some of you may be able to pinpoint this problem in hopes of reducing my visits to the dealership. I will schedule a ride-along with a technician once again so they can also get a feel for what is going on. Thank you for reading this and I look forward to reading what you guys think!

[wparsons]

If the dealership told you the rack and pinion is different from the power steering rack, find a new dealership.

There is no power steering rack, the rack is fully manual and there's only one rack.
There is no front axle, just a hub
If the rim was bent you could find that by having a shop put it on a balancing machine.

I would have someone check to see if the front control arm is bent at all along with the front strut and tie rods.

In any case, find a new place to take it. The dealership sounds like they're just throwing out ideas without even looking at the car.

[Calum]

Originally Posted by Khwang89

1. Rack and pinion
2. Power steering rack
3. Front left rim and tire
4. Front axle

1 and 2 are the same parts. And there is no front axle.

Take it someplace else, have them do an alignment, and tell them about your symptoms.

[CSG Mike]

Have you gotten an alignment?

[Khwang89]

Yea I've gotten two.

[Khwang89]

Thanks. Luckily I live near another Subaru dealership.

[Khwang89]

Thanks. I have gotten two alignments in which the second one was done better, but the wheel is slightly turned to the left.

[Calum]

Originally Posted by Khwang89

Thanks. I have gotten two alignments in which the second one was done better, but the wheel is slightly turned to the left.

You should find out exactly what they replaced. If they charged you to replace the rack twice, then they're bending you over. What did they mean by the front axle? How many miles were on it when they replaced the tire, how much difference is there in the tread depth of the tires? Did they show you that the tire AND rim were both damaged?

Then either they suck at doing alignments, or you should take it to a shop with a frame straightener. A shop with a frame straightener should also be able to an alignment, I'd take it there.

There's no reason to take it to a dealership, this already isn't covered under warranty.


I'm sorry but a lot of this just isn't adding up to me. Either they are raping your wallet, or you need to give some more accurate information.

[Khwang89]

Originally Posted by Calum

Then either they suck at doing alignments, or you should take it to a shop with a frame straightener. A shop with a frame straightener should also be able to an alignment, I'd take it there.

There's no reason to take it to a dealership, this already isn't covered under warranty.

I see your point. However, I take it to the dealership because I figured, "Might as well take it to the people who are well versed in fixing BRZ's". Also, I had taken it to a garage in which they told me to take it to the dealership because of it being so new. They stated that because the car is so new, they're unfamiliar and didn't want to further mess things up. Also, I HAD to replace the rims and tire because the rim was cracked and the tire was blown. It was at about 4-5k miles. Please excuse me if I am a little foggy on some of the details being that this happened back in August. Thanks for your response!

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Khwang89

Now I have taken it to the dealership about 3 times and each time they found something new to fix and have replaced the following:
1. Rack and pinion
2. Power steering rack
3. Front left rim and tire
4. Front axle

Easy, figure out what has been replaced and what hasn't.

1 & 2 are the same thing, if you got charged twice they took your money. It may be tie rod/rod ends + steering rack, which makes sense.

A list of things to cover in the front are:

- strut assembly
- top hat assembly
- wheel hub
- wheel
- tire (both sides if you locked up the brakes)
- bent sway bar endlink, causing suspension to preload on one side
- lower control arm
- ball joint
- front suspension spindle (possible)

The last part is tricky; years ago I did a 300ZX front brake upgrade on my S13, and couldn't figure out why my rotors were always toast after several months of driving. Uneven wear was attributed to poor bedding, poor rotors, bad caliper, stuck caliper pistons, even a bad hub.

After all said and done, I finally found the front suspension spindle (where the hub actually bolts to) is just slightly "bent", most likely from a previous wreck similar to yours.

A lot of these weird things happen after a wreck, and is very invisible. You can't tell from the brakes either, because sliding brake calipers somewhat compensate for this.

In any case, I bet it's one of the parts that has yet to be replaced. Unfortunately it'll be a few more trips to a dealer or mechanic if you aren't able to do the work yourself.

-alex

[BlueDubbinTDI]

I say intentionally get in a minor front end accident and have the repair shop repair everything to factory spec under an insurance claim. $500 deductible and its over with, sure a little higher rates but sure as hell isn't $3k

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by BlueDubbinTDI

I say intentionally get in a minor front end accident and have the repair shop repair everything to factory spec under an insurance claim. $500 deductible and its over with, sure a little higher rates but sure as hell isn't $3k

Heh.

Because an insurance fraud charge is so much fun (I know you're kidding).

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Khwang89

Thanks. I have gotten two alignments in which the second one was done better, but the wheel is slightly turned to the left.

It should be perfect after the alignment. If it's not, make them re-do it.

Sounds like you need a body shop doing your work, not the dealer. The dealer is just blindly changing parts for you.

Alternatively, find yourself a shop familiar with the car, and have them look for damage.

[Khwang89]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Easy, figure out what has been replaced and what hasn't.

1 & 2 are the same thing, if you got charged twice they took your money. It may be tie rod/rod ends + steering rack, which makes sense.

A list of things to cover in the front are:

- strut assembly
- top hat assembly
- wheel hub
- wheel
- tire (both sides if you locked up the brakes)
- bent sway bar endlink, causing suspension to preload on one side
- lower control arm
- ball joint
- front suspension spindle (possible)

The last part is tricky; years ago I did a 300ZX front brake upgrade on my S13, and couldn't figure out why my rotors were always toast after several months of driving. Uneven wear was attributed to poor bedding, poor rotors, bad caliper, stuck caliper pistons, even a bad hub.

After all said and done, I finally found the front suspension spindle (where the hub actually bolts to) is just slightly "bent", most likely from a previous wreck similar to yours.

A lot of these weird things happen after a wreck, and is very invisible. You can't tell from the brakes either, because sliding brake calipers somewhat compensate for this.

In any case, I bet it's one of the parts that has yet to be replaced. Unfortunately it'll be a few more trips to a dealer or mechanic if you aren't able to do the work yourself.

-alex

Thanks. I'm sure they didn't replace the same part twice but I am starting to wonder why they used terminology that doesn't fit. Either way, you guys probably already figured out I'm not well versed in cars and their functionality. I am just a healthcare worker who likes nice cars and I'm planning on fixing it up a bit more for "spirited" driving. So I can save your life, but I have no idea how to save my car lol.